When Washington retired, the two parties faced off. John Adams, a Federalist, won in 1796; Thomas Jefferson came second and, under the original rules, became Vice President. The President and Vice President were political rivals.
Key idea
France was seizing American ships. In the XYZ Affair (1797 to 1798), French agents asked for a bribe before talks could begin, and the country was outraged. An undeclared naval war with France, the Quasi-War, followed. In 1798 the Federalist Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson and Madison answered with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. In 1800, power passed peacefully from one party to the other.
Why it works
The Sedition Act made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous and malicious" writing against the government, Congress or the President. Supporters said a country close to war could not allow lies that stirred up rebellion. Critics said it punished criticism itself, and about two dozen people, mostly Republican editors, were charged under it; about ten were convicted. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions claimed that states could judge when the national government overstepped the Constitution, an idea that returned in later fights.
Worked example: Why the tie happened
In 1800 each elector cast two votes for President, with no separate vote for Vice President. The Republicans won 73 electors, and every one voted for Jefferson and Burr. What happened?
- Jefferson 73, Burr 73: a tie for first place, though everyone knew Jefferson was meant to be President.
- The Constitution sent a tie to the House of Representatives, voting by state.
- The House took 36 ballots, ending February 17, 1801, before choosing Jefferson. Hamilton urged Federalists to prefer Jefferson to Burr.
- To stop it happening again, the Twelfth Amendment (1804) had electors cast separate votes for President and Vice President.
Answer: A tie sent the election to the House, which chose Jefferson; the Twelfth Amendment followed.
Common mistake
Students often miss why 1800 mattered. It was the first time power passed from one party to another by an election, and the losers, the Federalists, handed it over peacefully. Jefferson later called it a "revolution" made without the sword. It also exposed the flaw in the electoral rules that the Twelfth Amendment fixed. Adams, for his part, made peace with France in 1800, though it cost him support in his own party.